Post in each section with tidbits of wisdom and advice to add. Feel free to add a new section, if warranted. Then, once it's all together and done, we can post the whole thing in it's own FAQ thread.
Let's get started!
FAQ First Draft
Moderators: Xar, Goatkiller666
FAQ First Draft
A comment from a non-Gravin Threndor player who has played RPGs in the past explained that she felt out of her level in the GT waters. So I've started to post a general RPG FAQ.
Post in each section with tidbits of wisdom and advice to add. Feel free to add a new section, if warranted. Then, once it's all together and done, we can post the whole thing in it's own FAQ thread.
Let's get started!
Post in each section with tidbits of wisdom and advice to add. Feel free to add a new section, if warranted. Then, once it's all together and done, we can post the whole thing in it's own FAQ thread.
Let's get started!
Last edited by balon! on Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
The Gravin Threndor Roleplaying FAQ
Definition: Role-playing - An RPG (roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players can improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.
If you're just starting off and you're unsure as to how to roleplay, don't be afraid to ask some of your fellow players for advice and/or tips. I'm sure that most, if not all, would be willing to take some time out to help someone in need.
Good roleplayers are made, not born. Just because someone else might be better than you at roleplaying, it doesn't mean you can't do the same thing. With time and effort becoming a veteran roleplayer is quite an easy task.
Don't be intimidated by your fellow roleplayers. Watch and learn from them. They can often teach you more than you'd be able to learn if you were alone.
Never give up. While in some cases there might not seem to be solutions, facing defeat is something you'll deal with sooner or later. It's how you deal with that which is important. You always have the option to make a new character, join a new thread, a new faction and/or learn from the mistakes you've made in the past.
One of the most important pieces of all, is to remember it is an RP. You are there to have fun and to interact with other characters and players. Don't take things too seriously and remember to always enjoy yourself.
Feel free to ask questions, give suggestions, agree, disagree, whatever on the information provided in this guide.
Definition: Role-playing - An RPG (roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players can improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.
If you're just starting off and you're unsure as to how to roleplay, don't be afraid to ask some of your fellow players for advice and/or tips. I'm sure that most, if not all, would be willing to take some time out to help someone in need.
Good roleplayers are made, not born. Just because someone else might be better than you at roleplaying, it doesn't mean you can't do the same thing. With time and effort becoming a veteran roleplayer is quite an easy task.
Don't be intimidated by your fellow roleplayers. Watch and learn from them. They can often teach you more than you'd be able to learn if you were alone.
Never give up. While in some cases there might not seem to be solutions, facing defeat is something you'll deal with sooner or later. It's how you deal with that which is important. You always have the option to make a new character, join a new thread, a new faction and/or learn from the mistakes you've made in the past.
One of the most important pieces of all, is to remember it is an RP. You are there to have fun and to interact with other characters and players. Don't take things too seriously and remember to always enjoy yourself.
Feel free to ask questions, give suggestions, agree, disagree, whatever on the information provided in this guide.
Last edited by balon! on Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
A Brief History of RPG's
The assumption of roles was a central theme in some early 20th century activities such as the game Jury Box, mock trials, model legislatures, and "Theatre Games". In the 1960s, historical reenactment groups such as The Sealed Knot and the Society for Creative Anachronism began to perform "creative history" reenactments introducing fantasy elements. In the 1970s fantasy wargames were developed, inspired by sword and sorcery fiction, in which each player controlled only a single unit, or "character".
Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1974 by Dave Arneson's and E. Gary Gygax's company, TSR, was the first commercially available role-playing game. TSR marketed the game as a niche product. Gygax expected to sell about 50,000 copies total to a strictly hobbyist market. After establishing itself in boutique stores it developed a cult following.
Dungeons & Dragons was a subject of controversy in the 1980s when well-publicized opponents claimed it caused negative spiritual and psychological effects. Academic research has discredited these claims. Some educators support role-playing games as a healthy way to hone reading and arithmetic skills. Though role-playing has been accepted by many, a few religious conservatives continue to object.
Due to the game's success, the term Dungeons & Dragons has sometimes been used as a generic term for fantasy role-playing games.
Games such as GURPS and Champions also served to introduce to RPG's game balance between player characters. Later, Vampire: The Masquerade and similar games served to emphasize storytelling and plot and character development over rules and combat. In recent years, rules stringency has been combined with literary techniques to develop games such as Dogs in the Vineyard that stress player input into a tense situation to give players moral agency in the course of the emerging story.
Competition from computer role-playing games and collectible card games led to a decline in the role-playing game industry. The financially troubled market leader TSR, Inc. was eventually purchased by Wizards of the Coast. To better cope with the economics of role-playing games, and to combat growing bootlegging problems, they introduced a new regime of open gaming, allowing other companies to publish D&D-compatible supplements.
In thirty years the genre has grown from a few hobbyists and boutique publishers to an economically significant part of the games industry. Grass-roots and small business involvement remains substantial while larger projects have attracted several million players worldwide. Games industry leader Hasbro purchased Wizards of the Coast in 1999 for an estimated $325 million.
The assumption of roles was a central theme in some early 20th century activities such as the game Jury Box, mock trials, model legislatures, and "Theatre Games". In the 1960s, historical reenactment groups such as The Sealed Knot and the Society for Creative Anachronism began to perform "creative history" reenactments introducing fantasy elements. In the 1970s fantasy wargames were developed, inspired by sword and sorcery fiction, in which each player controlled only a single unit, or "character".
Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1974 by Dave Arneson's and E. Gary Gygax's company, TSR, was the first commercially available role-playing game. TSR marketed the game as a niche product. Gygax expected to sell about 50,000 copies total to a strictly hobbyist market. After establishing itself in boutique stores it developed a cult following.
Dungeons & Dragons was a subject of controversy in the 1980s when well-publicized opponents claimed it caused negative spiritual and psychological effects. Academic research has discredited these claims. Some educators support role-playing games as a healthy way to hone reading and arithmetic skills. Though role-playing has been accepted by many, a few religious conservatives continue to object.
Due to the game's success, the term Dungeons & Dragons has sometimes been used as a generic term for fantasy role-playing games.
Games such as GURPS and Champions also served to introduce to RPG's game balance between player characters. Later, Vampire: The Masquerade and similar games served to emphasize storytelling and plot and character development over rules and combat. In recent years, rules stringency has been combined with literary techniques to develop games such as Dogs in the Vineyard that stress player input into a tense situation to give players moral agency in the course of the emerging story.
Competition from computer role-playing games and collectible card games led to a decline in the role-playing game industry. The financially troubled market leader TSR, Inc. was eventually purchased by Wizards of the Coast. To better cope with the economics of role-playing games, and to combat growing bootlegging problems, they introduced a new regime of open gaming, allowing other companies to publish D&D-compatible supplements.
In thirty years the genre has grown from a few hobbyists and boutique publishers to an economically significant part of the games industry. Grass-roots and small business involvement remains substantial while larger projects have attracted several million players worldwide. Games industry leader Hasbro purchased Wizards of the Coast in 1999 for an estimated $325 million.
Last edited by balon! on Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
Game Systems
The set of rules of a role-playing game is known as its game system; the rules themselves are known as game mechanics. Although there are game systems which are shared by many games, for example the d20 system, many games have their own, custom rules system.
Many role-playing games require the participation of a gamemaster (GM), who creates a setting for the game session, portrays most of its inhabitants and acts as the moderator and rules arbitrator for the players. The rest of the participants create and play inhabitants of the game setting, known as player characters (PCs). The player characters collectively are known as a "party".
During a typical game session, the GM will introduce a story goal for the players to achieve through the actions of their characters. Frequently, this involves interacting with non-player characters (NPC's), other denizens of the game world, which are played by the GM. Many game sessions contain moments of puzzle solving, negotiation, chases, and combat. The goal may be made clear to the players at the outset, or may become clear to them during the course of a game.
The indie role-playing game community (which is us ) has developed the GNS theory to describe role-playing games, which states that they belong to one of the following schools:
* Gamist games, in which enjoyment is derived from facing and overcoming challenges
* Narrativist games, in which enjoyment is derived from creating a good story (see Collaborative fiction)
* Simulationist games, in which enjoyment is derived from accurately simulating the real world.
Lastly, during play, a player can speak in character (IC) or out of character (OOC). A player who use out-of-character knowledge to solve in-character problems, or to explain in-character behaviour, is said to be metagaming.
The set of rules of a role-playing game is known as its game system; the rules themselves are known as game mechanics. Although there are game systems which are shared by many games, for example the d20 system, many games have their own, custom rules system.
Many role-playing games require the participation of a gamemaster (GM), who creates a setting for the game session, portrays most of its inhabitants and acts as the moderator and rules arbitrator for the players. The rest of the participants create and play inhabitants of the game setting, known as player characters (PCs). The player characters collectively are known as a "party".
During a typical game session, the GM will introduce a story goal for the players to achieve through the actions of their characters. Frequently, this involves interacting with non-player characters (NPC's), other denizens of the game world, which are played by the GM. Many game sessions contain moments of puzzle solving, negotiation, chases, and combat. The goal may be made clear to the players at the outset, or may become clear to them during the course of a game.
The indie role-playing game community (which is us
) has developed the GNS theory to describe role-playing games, which states that they belong to one of the following schools:* Gamist games, in which enjoyment is derived from facing and overcoming challenges
* Narrativist games, in which enjoyment is derived from creating a good story (see Collaborative fiction)
* Simulationist games, in which enjoyment is derived from accurately simulating the real world.
Lastly, during play, a player can speak in character (IC) or out of character (OOC). A player who use out-of-character knowledge to solve in-character problems, or to explain in-character behaviour, is said to be metagaming.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
Common Game Mechanics
--Characters in role-playing games are usually represented by a number of statistics. Statistics are an abstract measure of how successful a character is likely to be at a class of tasks.
--Each game has a setting in which adventures and campaigns can take place. Usually a campaign setting is designed for a specific game (Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms) or a specific genre of game (Warhammer)
--In some games, a character's personality and occupation is set by the character's statistics; in others, the player chooses an alignment and a character class to represent them. Other games allow the player free choice of occupation and allow the character's personality to develop through role-playing. Similarly, some games require players to choose a race such as Human, Dwarf or Elf for their character, while their opponents will usually belong to a monster race; other games either allow free choice from within the game's setting or assume every character will be human
--A game turn is an important fundamental concept to almost all non-computer games, and almost universal to RPG's. In general, a turn is a segment of the game set aside for certain actions to happen before moving on to the next turn, where the sequence of events can largely repeat.
--Many games involve the management of resources. Examples of game resources include game tokens, game money, and game points. Resource management involves the players establishing relative values for various types of available resources, in the context of the current state of the game and the desired outcome (i.e. winning the game). The game will have rules that determine how players can increase, spend, or exchange their various resources. The skilful management of resources under such rules allows players to influence the outcome of the game.
--Characters in role-playing games are usually represented by a number of statistics. Statistics are an abstract measure of how successful a character is likely to be at a class of tasks.
--Each game has a setting in which adventures and campaigns can take place. Usually a campaign setting is designed for a specific game (Dungeons and Dragons: Forgotten Realms) or a specific genre of game (Warhammer)
--In some games, a character's personality and occupation is set by the character's statistics; in others, the player chooses an alignment and a character class to represent them. Other games allow the player free choice of occupation and allow the character's personality to develop through role-playing. Similarly, some games require players to choose a race such as Human, Dwarf or Elf for their character, while their opponents will usually belong to a monster race; other games either allow free choice from within the game's setting or assume every character will be human
--A game turn is an important fundamental concept to almost all non-computer games, and almost universal to RPG's. In general, a turn is a segment of the game set aside for certain actions to happen before moving on to the next turn, where the sequence of events can largely repeat.
--Many games involve the management of resources. Examples of game resources include game tokens, game money, and game points. Resource management involves the players establishing relative values for various types of available resources, in the context of the current state of the game and the desired outcome (i.e. winning the game). The game will have rules that determine how players can increase, spend, or exchange their various resources. The skilful management of resources under such rules allows players to influence the outcome of the game.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
Also one factor that alot of people overlook;
A roleplay is just that, A ROLEPLAY.
In some games you will come across people known as Power Players, that will focus more on winning the game then on roleplaying an interesting character. This is completely understandable. Winning is a carnal wanting in man kind and thus human nature.
However, the point of a roleplay is just that, roleplaying. when faced with a situation that you cannot come out on top on in character, then you take it on in character. It is these sorts of situations that test a roleplayer. It is better to die in character than triumph out of character.
That is an extreme example. A player should be able to find a solution to most problems.
Another thing you will find in roleplays, is people getting comfortable with certain roles, often playing very similar characters over and over. The fun and excitement of a roleplay is the chance to be something that you are not, to go outside of your comfort zone. If you take the step outside your comfort zone and do a style of character you had never thought of before, you may just surprise yourself and you will find that your character will actually grow like a real person, instead of being some preconceived ideal
If anyone is interested in roleplaying but dont feel confident, please feel free to PM me for advice and help. Its a great world for you to go and shape out there, so embrace it.
A roleplay is just that, A ROLEPLAY.
In some games you will come across people known as Power Players, that will focus more on winning the game then on roleplaying an interesting character. This is completely understandable. Winning is a carnal wanting in man kind and thus human nature.
However, the point of a roleplay is just that, roleplaying. when faced with a situation that you cannot come out on top on in character, then you take it on in character. It is these sorts of situations that test a roleplayer. It is better to die in character than triumph out of character.
That is an extreme example. A player should be able to find a solution to most problems.
Another thing you will find in roleplays, is people getting comfortable with certain roles, often playing very similar characters over and over. The fun and excitement of a roleplay is the chance to be something that you are not, to go outside of your comfort zone. If you take the step outside your comfort zone and do a style of character you had never thought of before, you may just surprise yourself and you will find that your character will actually grow like a real person, instead of being some preconceived ideal
If anyone is interested in roleplaying but dont feel confident, please feel free to PM me for advice and help. Its a great world for you to go and shape out there, so embrace it.
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Bernard Black
- Ramen
- Posts: 95
- Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 1:34 pm
- Location: Watch City
For anyone trying Zombie Apocalypse for the first time...
In my time in the first ZA, I found three helpful things:
1) First and foremost, give your character some scenes. I picked this up from Variol Son. Don't just take actions; once the turn has been processed, show us the scene. This is the most fun part of the game, for me. Check out the old ZA game thread for examples.
2) Look at actions or observations other characters make, and give us your character's perspectives on them. This gives you material for roleplaying and helps with character interaction. For instance, Dave makes a suggestion and remarks that your character looks shocked; you might then make a post that mentions you look shocked because you just remembered you left the oven on. Again, see the original ZA for better examples.
3) The whisper can be useful. This would never have occurred to me if someone else hadn't used it on me. If you want your character to speak to another character confidentially, say in your post that you're whispering to them, then send that character a PM. For example, your post says "Clive eyed Marie warily for a moment, then made up his mind. Clearing his throat, he leaned close to her and whispered..." Then you PM Marie and say "Psst, I could do with a housekeeper. Do you want the job?" or whatever. Used sparingly, whispering can be useful.
In my time in the first ZA, I found three helpful things:
1) First and foremost, give your character some scenes. I picked this up from Variol Son. Don't just take actions; once the turn has been processed, show us the scene. This is the most fun part of the game, for me. Check out the old ZA game thread for examples.
2) Look at actions or observations other characters make, and give us your character's perspectives on them. This gives you material for roleplaying and helps with character interaction. For instance, Dave makes a suggestion and remarks that your character looks shocked; you might then make a post that mentions you look shocked because you just remembered you left the oven on. Again, see the original ZA for better examples.
3) The whisper can be useful. This would never have occurred to me if someone else hadn't used it on me. If you want your character to speak to another character confidentially, say in your post that you're whispering to them, then send that character a PM. For example, your post says "Clive eyed Marie warily for a moment, then made up his mind. Clearing his throat, he leaned close to her and whispered..." Then you PM Marie and say "Psst, I could do with a housekeeper. Do you want the job?" or whatever. Used sparingly, whispering can be useful.
Oh. Bugger.